


All you have is your fire, and the place you need to reach

by AbbySomething



Category: Samurai Jack (Cartoon)
Genre: Blood and Violence, Body Horror, Gen, Nonconsensual Touching, also crush is a bad word for what jack feels but it's the closest for the warnings, body autonomy issues, boot licking, child harm (shown briefly and threatened/implied), coerced feeding/drinking, fanfic of an AU, forced starvation/dehydration, i say 'vaguely' only because this is from aku's perspective, jack is a fucking creep and a horrible person, shapeshifting torture (???), vaguely implied one-sided borderline obsessive desire for ownership?? ya sure, vaguely implied one-sided crush, writing jack with sadistic tendencies was both the best and the worst writing experience of my life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-13
Updated: 2017-07-13
Packaged: 2018-12-01 15:45:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11489544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbbySomething/pseuds/AbbySomething
Summary: Don't you ever tame your demonsBut always keep them on a leash





	All you have is your fire, and the place you need to reach

**Author's Note:**

> so this is a thing for thememime's [Paladin Aku AU](https://paladin-au.tumblr.com/post/161650558700/thememime-samurai-jack-au-im-working-on) (which i highly, highly suggest you read with or without reading this work)
> 
> i tried to make them true to their original canon characters while obv putting memime’s twist on their role reversal, but this also turned into something of a character study on just how different each of them would be after having been shaped by their different lives.
> 
> Im not sorry at all, as usual :3
> 
> and thanks to brownpelican73 for the title suggestion!

Aku can’t help but wonder on the series of circumstances that has led him to this moment: first from refusing to serve the samurai that had freed him all those eons ago, into having his magic sealed by that same samurai and then being flung into the future, trying his damndest to find a way back to the past or to defeat his immortal enemy in order to find his place amongst the gods, and then foiling nearly every trap or bounty hunter while learning more about the people of this land and— against his will, mind you— gaining their trust and support.

Although, more specifically, he should be thinking about what brought him here today, but Aku has never been one to focus on his mistakes. At least…if they weren’t as grave as this one.

It’s the chains that are the worst part, really, because they restrict him even more than that damn seal does. He can barely move as it is, and worse yet he’s kneeling before his enemy like some ordinary, pathetic whelp.

(He’s trying to also ignore the small sounds of the human girl two of the guards carry between them.)

“It was only a matter of time until you slipped,” The samurai stands above him, the links of chains connected to the collar around Aku’s neck tight in his grip, “And worse yet, you’ve managed to drag one of my citizens into this.”

Aku huffs and rolls his eyes, “She was merely a bystander, fool. She means nothing to me.”

He’s hoping to play upon his nemesis’ self-righteous nature and get him to think Kuni can be released. Then, at least, she’ll be safe, and out of this man’s grasp. He doesn’t look at Kuni; doesn’t face the crestfallen expression she bears when she hears him say that.

“You would do wise to call me ‘Master’ and not ‘fool,’ now,” Jack frowns down at him, and gestures to the guards behind him, “We wouldn’t want anything to happen to our _other_ guest, would we?”

One of the guards squeezes Kuni’s arm, and she whimpers but bites it off into her lip. Aku cannot help the growl that rumbles forth from his throat, but he wisely keeps his mouth shut.

“You have me,” he states, “What use do you need for such a…a useless human!”

Jack cocks his head down at Aku, cold and impassive, like Aku is a specimen under a scientist’s microscope. It’s the same gaze he gave Aku the first time they met, and Aku had looked into those eyes and realized there was nothing but a dark and empty hunger for power behind them.

Aku realizes, a little too late, that Jack may _know_ about the protection Aku has given to Kuni, as he always has his watchers following Aku. Maybe he knew, this whole time; the thought actually sends a shiver of fear down Aku’s spine.

“Consider her insurance.” Jack finally says, and with a wave he dismisses them. Kuni struggles, but she cannot escape their grips. Aku jolts against his own restraints, but he goes nowhere as well, and a pit opens in him with the horror that he has made her a liability in his ongoing battle with the samurai.

“No—!” he shouts before he closes his mouth with a clacking of teeth, gaze flickering back up to meet the samurai’s.

This time, there’s an edge of a smirk playing across his features, crinkling the mark under his right eye.

And it is then Aku accepts that he had really, really fucked up.

* * *

 

The samurai and the rest of the guards lead Aku into one of the brighter pits, the lights glaring into Aku’s very being. Jack slips the end of the chain through a hook that comes out of the wall, then locks it into place. At least Aku can sit and stew in his hate like this, but with these enchanted chains and Kuni hidden away there’s not much more he can reasonably do for the time being.

Gods, he hopes the Scotsman realizes what’s happened and is able to fulfill his part of the plan. If nothing else, at least get Kuni out.

“Until I can prepare a stronger spell to keep you contained, these will have to do.” Jack explains factually, face impassive.

“What a treat,” Aku shoots back, “I should feel so honored. Do I get breakfast in bed too?”

The lips under the beard press into a thin line, but the samurai says nothing in return. He starts to turn to leave, but then gives Aku another glance over.

He steps well into Aku’s space, making Aku’s insides squirm a little, and brushes his fingers through the tufts along Aku’s neck. Just this side of too long of contact.

However, it turns out he’s unlatching the red cape, and Jack swiftly pulls it off and steps away, looking down at the cloth like it’s offended him personally.

“I do not think you’ll be needing this anymore.” he states, and then walks out of the cell leaving Aku to wish he still had his eyebeams so he could zap the man on the spot.

Aku is fine with isolation. He did it, many years ago, entirely by choice.

But what gets to him now are his _thoughts_.

They circle like vultures, diving in and trying to pick at his fortress of Not Thinking About It.

Kuni is—

She will be fine. The samurai would not go so far as to outright harm a little girl if she has done nothing wrong herself. Like he said, Kuni is nothing more than insurance. If something happened to her...

Aku spends the next few hours going over all the elaborate ways he will happily end the samurai’s life, whether in this future or the past. They bring him some mild amusement for a bit, but he eventually grows bored. He also has to close his eyes after a time, as the lights start to burn into his sockets. He still feels uncomfortable under them, but it’s more bearable.

He is—

He is _not_ thinking about this. He will find a way out, grab Kuni, and start a fire along the way that hopefully takes the whole damn place down. Or maybe the Scotsman will save her, and in the commotion Aku can break free to ram a bladed hand through the samurai’s chest. Swift. Efficient. Bloody.

Anything. Anything at all to just get out of this awful place.

He shudders, finally, after realizing he’s lost track of time, and curls up his knees to his chest.

Kuni is scared and alone.

And so is he.

* * *

 

The samurai knows better than to feed him or give him water between his experiments. Aku can _survive_ without them, but the lack of them makes _living_ miserable. Hell, he can barely sleep with the lights on, the brightness burning into his sockets. Each day the chains and guards hold him down, and the samurai tries his various spells and incantations to get Aku to obey him or hurt him in hopes it would wear away at Aku’s spirit. Each day his strength is sapped further and further by the samurai’s magic and the denial of the ability to replenish himself.

He doesn’t stop fighting; he doesn’t stop shrieking about his due revenge; he doesn’t stop searching for any which way to escape. But _nothing_ is working, and each failure takes away more than just his dwindling power.

At one point the samurai even separates a bit of essence from him, locking it away in a tightly-sealed capsule and handing it off to his guards. Aku tries to reconnect with it later but either he is too weak or Jack has put it in a container that blocks Aku’s abilities. He doesn’t want to think about what the imperial scientists are going to do with it.

Today, however, the samurai surprises Aku by walking into his cell with a plate of fruit and a tall glass of iced water. ...At least until he sits down in front of Aku and begins to eat and drink in front of him. Aku finds it in him to manage a feral scowl.

“You must be famished,” Jack says, perfunctorily dabbing at his mouth with a small white napkin, “Anything in particular you’ve been missing?”

“Your head on a platter would hit the spot.”

There’s the smallest twitch at the corner of the samurai’s lips, but he blinks at Aku blankly.

“That is too bad then. I was thinking of offering my generosity to you if you behaved.”

Aku snorts, “Pfft. And I thought honesty was something you supposedly _valued_.”

Quick as a whip, the samurai’s hand grabs his beard and yanks him forward as far as the short chain will allow. Aku winces at the strain it puts on his arms.

“I do value it,” Jack gives him another tug, causing Aku to squawk, “Even more than I value your life.”

He sets the plate of fruit on the ground, picking a grape from the cluster and holding it within a few inches of Aku’s face.

The pieces fit together faster than Jack can speak, and Aku thinks: ‘ _Oh **hell** no.’_

He immediately tries pulling himself away, ignoring the pain-inducing grip Jack still has on his beard, but all he winds up doing is throwing himself side to side. At this point their power has reversed; Jack is too strong, and Aku is too weak. After a few valiant tries he falls back into place, panting, glowering up at the samurai.  

“Are you done?” Jack asks, emotionless.

The words “Fuck you” are on Aku’s tongue, but he looks at Jack’s hand, then back to the samurai. Wicked thoughts curl into his mind, and he barely holds himself back from grinning. Instead, he frames his posture and face into something defeated, flinching and looking down.

“Open,” Jack commands, and Aku obeys, dropping his maw a few inches, still keeping his gaze cast downward.

The hand comes close, but stops within a breath of touching.

“Do I _need_ to tell you what will happen if you bite?” The samurai almost frowns.

Aku looks up sharply at him, then bears all his teeth and curved fangs in a snarl.

Something the samurai said a few minutes ago comes back to him, and with clear disdain Aku demands, “And what exactly is my reward if I am ‘good’ then, eh?”

It actually gets Jack to make a bemused noise, expression almost following, but then it’s all reeled back in behind the stony mask.

“You can never be _good_ , Aku,” Jack says evenly, “It is against your nature.”

Aku rolls his eyes. As if he hasn’t heard _that_ before, a thousand fucking times. The sheer irony of Jack saying it never fails to amuse him.

“However,” Jack goes on, “If you _behave_ , I may consider letting you have a visitor.”

 _‘Kuni_ ,’ Aku thinks with desperate hope. And then something unpleasant curls in his gut, and he’s horrified to realize it’s bordering on _hatred_.

‘ _It’s her fault we’re in this_ ,’ a voice whispers in his mind, cruel and toxic, ‘ _It’s her fault we have to endure this and cannot escape!_ ’

Aku tears it to shreds, replacing the blame and his burning hatred where it belongs: directed at the samurai. He glares anew up at Jack, firey eyebrows flaring with renewed vigor.

Jack stares in vague curiosity at him, as if trying to puzzle out what Aku is thinking.

Aku grinds his teeth together, weighing his options. He settles, finally, into a cooler fury.

“Only if you actually _give me your word_ you will let me see her,” he finally says, then quickly adds, “In person.” He hopes to give the samurai as little outs as possible.

Jack seems to be considering it, and after a few seconds a smile slides onto his face like oil over water. It’s effectively eerie, but not something Aku hasn’t seen before.

“Very well, I give you my word.”

“Your word to _what_.”

“Hm?” Jack has the audacity to sound confused.

“Say it!” Aku snaps, “Say you give me your word to let me see Kuni if I, I _do_ this whatever-it-is!”

“You test my patience.” Jack pulls a little more forward on the beard, and Aku involuntarily lets out a weak sound.

“And you test _mine_.” Aku puts as much edge into his voice as he dares.

 _That_ gets a furrowed brow, the samurai’s eyes narrowing in anger. But Aku knows he’s caught on the samurai’s little game, and Jack knows it too.

After a long minute of a stare-off between them, Jack relents and lets go of Aku’s beard.

“I give you my word you will see Kuni for this.”

“ _In person_ ,” Aku insists again, then harder when Jack’s nose curls, “I will see her _in person_.”

Jack closes his eyes, taking a deep breath. Aku can feel the anxiety crawling up his spine, but he doesn’t let it get to him.

“I give you my word you will see Kuni _in person_ for this.”

Aku lets out his own subtle breath of relief. At least he has that, now.

Jack brings the grape back up, and Aku swallows heavily before forcing his mouth open a small amount and letting Jack slip it in. He is the most miniscule amount almost thankful he doesn’t have to taste the samurai’s skin— the man never takes off the damn gloves, _ever_ — but the leather and metal make him want to gag anyway. And at least Jack doesn’t linger; each time is methodical and brief. He even brings the water up to Aku’s mouth and carefully lets the demon drink, never spilling a drop.

Even though it’s not exact torture, this makes him want to squirm and move away just as much if not more. Aku knows the samurai is only seeking to humiliate him, bring down his spirit in hopes of forcing him under Jack’s control, but Aku is too strong in this regards. He is _absolute_ Jack will never have him.

He has to think that. He has to.

* * *

 

The samurai leaves afterwards without another word or glance, despite Aku screaming after him about fulfilling his end of the promise, and for however long he sits in there Aku feels a creeping sense of despair at the corners of his thoughts.

It could be hours, maybe days, between the times when he sees anyone. At some point a couple of guards come in and unhook him just enough to get him over a bucket to take care of what he’s digested, and unfortunately he can’t get enough room to kick or bite at them.

Those vultures of hopelessness circle ever closer, still pecking at his willpower, cawing about his failures. They swoop in with images of Kuni, weeping, alone again just as she was before Aku met her.

Just as _he_ was alone as well.

And this is the worst part these vultures bring about: being forced to face his own reality.

As much as he denies it, proclaims loudly otherwise, and deep down hates its truth, he doesn’t want to be alone. It doesn’t mean he wants company all the time, but Kuni has given him something no one ever did before, and now he never wants to go back to the full isolation. Never having anyone to encourage him, to talk with, for him to _know_ an existence outside of himself.

Kuni is his _hope_.

And Aku had brought her into the jaws of the beast.

* * *

 

_At the time, the idea was sound._

_“Why call for a truce?” Jack’s voice, filtered through the mask, still gave off that air of passive arrogance, “Are you going to turn yourself in?”_

_He’s standing some short distance away, giving a sign to his minions and drones to hold off from charging. Although the samurai had never given a real name to anyone, Aku’s always liked thinking of the man as a “Jack;” he certainly qualified to be a jackass._

_“Temporary truce,” Aku waves a hand dismissively, “Because I have a proposal for you, samurai.”_

_A long moment passes between them where nothing happens, but Aku can tell just from that he’s caught his nemesis’ attention._

_“What kind of proposal?” the samurai asks._

_“A duel!” Aku grins broadly, puffing his chest out in confidence, “On even ground, to see who is truly better.”_

_“Even ground?” The mask tilts some small degrees._

_“I will not shapeshift or use my powers, just physical combat,” Aku goes on, “And you will not use your powers, weapons, or servants. Just us, fighting man to man!”_

_“You are no man,” Jack states, “How can I trust your honor if you have none, demon?”_

_“Do your underlings know you cannot grasp the concepts of well-known phrases?” Aku snaps, then jolts when Jack takes a step forward, “Wait! If I break those rules, you are free to use your powers and so on.”_

_He stands up straighter again, giving Jack his best defiant glare, “I intend for this to be a_ fair _fight. It is time we ended this, samurai.”_

_Again, more time goes by while Jack thinks it over. Aku stays still, though his body is tensed and ready to fight if needed._

_Eventually Jack relents, “I agree.”_

_After they decree to meet at the Valley of the Corpses, and the samurai’s troops have long teleported away, Aku strides over to where Kuni is hiding behind an outcropping. He leans against it, still smirking in glee._

_“What did I tell you?” he chuckles, “He is a_ fool _.”_

_Kuni gives him a worried look, “I don’t know. Didn’t Scotsman say he’s really, really good at fighting?”_

_Aku groans, rolling his eyes._

_“Have you no faith in Aku? I have my ways by which I will beat him.”_

_Kuni shakes her head, but it’s clearly more out of exasperation than encouragement._

_“I want you to do it,” she says, eyeing him cautiously, “But I just don’t think trying to beat him this way is gunna work out.”_

_“Baaah,” Aku waves a hand dismissively, “You are young, child, and do not understand the complexities of Aku’s thinking and plotting.”_

_“Which means you have no clue what you’re gunna do.”_

_“Enough!” he shouts, eyebrows blazing, “Aku has a plan! It is a good plan! Or else he would not have challenged the samurai! You need to shut up!”_

_He leaps back to his feet, and promptly sets off towards the east. Kuni runs to catch up, and they make their way to Aku’s final duel with the samurai._

* * *

 

“Unfortunately, this is only temporary. But once I can place a full control spell over you, this will not be necessary.”

The samurai’s voice is still ever-clinical as he weaves magic in his hands while Aku lies on the floor, chains of magic tight around his wrists and ankles. He’s referring to something new he’s casting over Aku, still trying to mold Aku to his will. It will, as all before it have done, likely fail.

At least they moved to an area with less blinding lights. Aku can actually manage a solid smouldering glare at his enemy.

Jack looks down at him, one brow arching gracefully, “Of course, if you would just submit, I wouldn’t need any of this. And that girl wouldn’t have to stay in my care.”

 _My care._ Aku bares his fangs in response.

The samurai looks back at his hands, “It is your choice, and honestly no matter to me. I would only hope you can think outside of yourself, for once, and consider what would be best for her.”

“Says the pot to the kettle.” Aku snaps. He gets no further response.

The samurai pauses briefly, and then Aku feels the magic rush over him. He braces, but it’s not like he can go anywhere or do anything. It settles over him, leaving an electric tingle, not entirely pleasant.

Jack snaps his fingers and the chains that bind Aku crumble. Aku takes a millisecond to absorb this, and then he tries to twirl in on himself, creating a portal into the dungeons...

“Ah,” Jack says, “There we are.”

And then he twists his wrist and Aku’s body bends, uncompromising to his own control, and he cannot stop the shriek of agony as it shifts around him. It shouldn’t hurt like this, it shouldn’t be so—

But this is not his choice, and his own body is fighting itself as the spell makes him take another shape. He opens his eyes when it ends, panting though he doesn’t need breath, and takes in the form he’s become. It’s something long and low to the ground, and he has a tail and a tapered snout, but his own body feels alien to him from shapeshifting without his control.

Jack must twist the spell again because the pain erupts all over once more, and he cries out, louder now, as he writhes on the floor. Now, he has no limbs, but through blurry vision Aku can make out fins along his back.

The samurai is stepping closer, he can hear it, but Aku can’t focus on it as his body goes against him again, and he has no voice left with which to scream as everything warps and shifts and _breaks_.

When he is able to think beyond the delirious haze that’s settled over him, he comes to realize he finally recognizes this form— it’s Ikra. It’s certainly very _distinct_.

It is also then that he realizes the samurai is kneeling above him, running one gloved finger over the curve of Aku-Ikra’s jaw. Aku feels like he’s going to be sick.

The hand pulls away and Aku is able to bring a glowering look in full force up to Jack, but upon doing so he really wishes he hadn’t. Jack is bearing a small smile, completely genuine, and it settles into Aku’s core like ice. It’s worse than the impassiveness, or the smug smirks. There’s nothing kind in that look, and it forces Aku to face just _what_ his enemy has become.

“Bastard!” he spits on Jack’s boot, “I look forward to ripping you limb from limb!”

The smile doesn’t slip away, though one corner of Jack’s eye twitches.

“Clean it.”

Aku blinks up at him.

“What?”

“I think you heard me.” Jack’s boot squeaks as he inches it closer to Aku’s face, “Or do you want us to bring this to your human companion? I am sure she misses you, given the way she cries so often.”

Aku’s eyes widen in shock and horror at those implications, of having all his fears confirmed in one fell swoop. Jack could be lying, just to draw this out of Aku, but he— Aku cannot—

His whole body shudders as he has to fight back revulsion, slamming his eyes shut as he forces himself under control. What little control he has.

His body still aches and burns all over, and it’s still in Ikra’s form (Jack probably wants— he has to stop _fucking thinking_ ), and he has to drag himself the last few inches over on his elbows and knees.

The first cautionary lick has him recoiling at the taste, but he thinks of Kuni crying in that bright, empty room and he manages to find it in himself to push himself back and lick again. And again.

“Ah, now where is that defiant glare you are so fond of?”

Aku keeps his eyes shut, unwilling to see any more of the reality around him. If he just...blocks out everything, it will be nothing to him later. He _won’t_ let the samurai poison him.

Unfortunately, being blind to where he’s sticking his tongue leaves him a fumbling around a bit, and several times he gets nothing more than air. After a few actual passes, he dares a peek up at Jack, but the samurai’s hand grabs the back of his head and pushes his face back into the steel-toed end of it. Aku grunts, clamping his eyes shut again, and keeps jabbing his tongue against the metal.

With a bit of a start, Aku recognizes the signs of his power returning, a trickle of magic that’s sluggishly replenishing him from the inside out. He starts to move like he’s taking his time, being “thorough,” though he keeps his eyes shut in an expression of disgust. _Fuck_ , he’s going to have this taste in his mouth _forever_ , but if he can just keep Jack distracted long enough…

The hand on his head pulls away and in the next instant his body erupts in molten-hot, stabbing _pain,_ and his voice blends from Ikra’s back to his own while he lets out another tormented howl.

Suddenly the samurai stands, and in a blur his boot stomps on Aku’s face, pressing it into the floor. Aku no longer has the energy to even protest.

“All these years,” Jack’s voice echoes with a laugh that goes unvoiced, “And all it took was one measly little girl to get you to _crawl_ under me.”

He pushes down further, and Aku’s body creaks.

“You are _pathetic_.” Jack brings his foot away to crouch down and roughly shove his knee into Aku’s back, then grabs both the demon’s limp wrists to bring them around and enchant chains to hold them again.

He looms over Aku, and slowly brings one hand up to rub against the texture on his arm. It’s a mockery of a soothing gesture. Aku weakly tries in vain to lean away.

“I will break you,” Jack’s voice has dropped low, just so Aku can hear, and the samurai cocks his head at Aku with that emotionless face, “Even if I must do it piece by piece.”

He makes it sound like a fact, and Aku is horrified to find _he_ almost believes it.

* * *

 

That becomes Jack’s new favorite torture, and he takes Aku out at what seems like every few hours just to have Aku turn into random shapes and animals for nothing more than his own enjoyment of hearing Aku scream.

After a while, even his voice stops obeying him, as it’s become too hearse in his throat. At that point he almost misses being able to cry out, because the silence weighs too much.

After this last session, the guards dump him in the cell, but he hears the samurai stop just inside the door instead of immediately hooking chains around him again. Nothing happens, and not even the samurai speaks.

Aku tries to reach inside himself for his magic, but his body doesn’t feel like his own anymore. Everything skirts away from his grasp, but freedom is only a spell or two away. He wants to rage in his frustration but he is just too exhausted.

Finally the metal clanking of the samurai's boots draws near, and Jack leans over him, eyes roaming over Aku. It takes a moment for Aku to realize he’s searching for a trick, or signs that Aku is fighting him still. A lump forms in his throat when he thinks about what Jack must see before him.

Jack kneels down, and places a hand on the back of Aku’s head.

“Good.” he says, in the tone one uses with an animal. Like a pet. Aku’s claws twitch into the floor and he finally gets a scowl on his face.

Jack makes a part of a noise– it might have been a growl before he cut himself off– and stands quickly, making the chains appear around Aku again and constrict him to the point of a pained wheeze. He drags Aku across the floor and, in a surprising show of strength and possibly emotion from the man, he vaults Aku around by the longest part and into the wall. Aku slams into it on his back, and he yelps involuntarily before his face smashes into the floor. He only vaguely hears the samurai breathing a little unevenly above him, and then Jack yanks the chain up and into the hook on the wall a little more forcibly than normal.

Aku cracks his eyes open to glare back at the samurai’s dark expression.

After a long moment, Jack whips on his heels and turns to leave.

“You lied,” Aku spits out, his voice a weak croak, “You said I would see Kuni.”

Jack freezes— though Aku’s demon reflexes see it coming he cannot stop it— and whirls around to backhand Aku harshly.

“You will not accuse me of dishonesty, _creature._ ” Jack says in a voice barely holding his rage back. Then, he straightens, taking a slow inhale and exhale, regaining his control. He almost looks like he is going to say something else, but then something in him grows contemplative, and he gives Aku an unreadable expression before he finally walks out.

It unsettles Aku in the way that he knows Jack is plotting something but can’t figure out what it is until the samurai springs it.

He just needs to know Kuni is alive and unharmed. The samurai couldn’t break Aku, but Kuni is just a little girl. She is strong enough for Aku to deny giving her credit, but he is no fool about what a monster Jack is, and what lengths the man will go to to get what he wants.

The vultures circle ever closer, growing more bold with their swipes at his hopes and willpower.

 _‘And what if he has harmed her?’_ One caws gleefully, _‘You would be too powerless to do anything about it! You really are just as pathetic now as he claims you are!’_

He refuses to listen to it, so they switch to pecking at his past and reopening the wounds of his mistakes.

* * *

 

_Alright. So, this may not have been the best idea._

_Truthfully Aku’s only fought Jack hand-to-hand a select few times, and even then it was very brief. Typically Aku relies on his tricks to get him out of situations, and especially out of fighting the samurai directly when or if the fights don’t go in his favor, but right now he’s stuck with what he’s got and it’s...not helping at all against his foe. His_ very _full-proof plan has fallen through like wispy spiderwebs._

_Jack is extremely skilled, and had it not been for Aku’s natural reflexes and, admittedly, not-human-restrained stamina, most mortals would have been dead or knocked out cold by now. As it is he’s still exhausted, and itching to use his powers as a last-minute trick to try and end the samurai in one swift blow, but the samurai is relentless as ever and keeps trying to back Aku into both literal and figurative corners._

_Aku only barely keeps himself out of trouble, but he knows he has to finish this soon or risk actually failing._

_He somehow manages to lose the samurai in a chase through the ruins, and he stops behind a pillar, panting heavily. Something scrapes behind the pillar in front of him, and he braces himself, tensing—_

_Kuni pokes her head out, and then slides along the stone until she is facing Aku._

_“What are you doing girl-child!” he whispers harshly, still fully aware Jack could leap out from anywhere, “I told you to keep your distance!”_

_“He’s got a trap for you, jerk,” Kuni announces quietly, shooting him a stubborn stare, “He let you get away and now he’s gunna lure you into it.”_

_Aku blinks owlishly at her, and then scowls._

_“Alright, you have done your duty, now go back to your hiding spot!” He waves his hand at her in a shooing motion._

_She scrunches her nose at him, “Don’t you wanna know how to avoid it?”_

_Aku rolls his eyes, “By not doing whatever the samurai wants me to do?”_

_“You can’t let him knock you into anything!” Kuni continues, “He’s been making the other pillars and structures weaker around the area that has all the bones in it.”_

_Aku looks around. Everywhere has fucking bones scattered around. It was the Valley of the Corpses for a reason!...ish._

_“The one with all the skulls ok!” Her voice rises a little in her ire, but Aku shoots her a look and she snaps her jaw shut. She frowns, but scoots back around the pillar and disappears._

_Aku looks both ways behind himself, and then tries to place where he’s seen more skulls than anywhere else. His memory is telling him there’s a possibility there was something like that behind and to the east of him, so he starts darting between pillars and ruined structures, ever-vigilant for any sign of the samurai._

_He still somehow fails to see or hear the man leaping down from above, and the metal fist smashes into the stone inches in front of Aku’s face. He shrieks, scrambling back, but then leaps back into action._

_Aku takes a chance and dodges past Jack into a roll, and he can hear Jack make an annoyed sound behind him as he bolts from there. Now, he needs to lead Jack to think the trap will still work, but then turn it upon the creator. Genius!_

_Jack follows him, and they twist and turn through the ruins once more. Sure enough, Jack seems to get just enough ground on him to purposefully come close enough for a scare but miss almost on purpose, forcing Aku to take different directions. He leads the samurai on himself, thankfully too out of breath to grin as triumphantly as he wishes or else he might have given away the whole thing._

_Finally Aku rounds a corner and sees an area littered with skulls, surrounded on all sides with pillars and half-ruined brick walls. He pretends to be caught, looking around for an exit, and then whirls on the samurai, slowly backing up towards one of the pillars. Jack slows as well, advancing on Aku like a well-versed predator. At least the man manages to keep his face neutral, as per usual, whereas Aku might not be able to hold back an intimidating smirk. He begrudgingly gives the man credit for that._

_“You have fought well, Aku, for a demon,” Jack starts, still stepping forward, “But our fight will end here with you at my feet, either in chains or dead.”_

_There’s no hint of any emotion; he’s stating it like he knows it will happen. Aku snorts._

_“It is you who should be wary, sam-ur-ai,” Aku taunts, “After all, you’ve only repeated that line to me what, a hundred times? Two hundred? I have lost count.”_

_Jack frowns, furrowing his brow as anger passes over his expression. It goes away just as quickly._

_Aku’s heels and back touch the pillar, and he inhales sharply. He tenses, readying to spring._

_In the blink of an eye Jack throws himself forward, aiming a punch straight for Aku’s head. Aku ducks enough to let it swing over his head as he pushes forward, and grabs Jack by his sideplates and turns both of them around. Jack gets a punch from his other fist to Aku’s gut, and Aku wheezes but doesn’t relent, slamming Jack into the pillar._

_It shakes ominously, and then all the top segments start to slide off and towards the both of them. Jack seems genuinely surprised in that second, gawking up, and Aku attempts to make a break for it. In a flash, however, Jack grabs an edge of his cape and yanks Aku back, then tries to shove him in the way. It would have taken too long regardless for Jack to switch and escape, but it does put both of them back under the falling stone pieces and they both go down._

_Aku hacks and coughs at the dust, moaning at the ache in his head and back as he pulls himself away from the pile, but he can’t see what became of Jack. It wouldn’t have been enough to crush the man— Aku wasn’t_ that _lucky— but if he were also down…_

_His keen senses pick up labored breathing from off to his right, and he gathers his strength to lunge over, grabbing blindly through the debris. Finally he touches something metal, and he reaches an edge and pulls hard. He hears Jack cough wetly, and the metal and leather hands weakly try to pry at Aku’s grip._

_He’s managed to get a hold of the top left corner of Jack’s armor, and he can see there is a crushed section around his waist that is already pooling blood. It doesn’t appear to be dire enough to kill the man, and undoubtedly he would still consider it “fair” to use his magic to heal himself if Aku weren’t looking._

_Aku ploughs him into the ground again, and then raises his hand over the samurai’s head, flexing his claws. Jack forces an eye open to glare at Aku, but then he notices the claws and his face starts to fall._

_Somewhere off behind them at some distance, he hears Kuni cry out._

_They both freeze. Aku’s magic jumps in his body, and he immediately wants to go and help her. But..._

_If he can kill Jack, it will all be over. If he can just–_

_He sharpens his claws, coiling his strength in preparation to slam through the man’s skull, and for a moment there is something akin to fear that flickers through Jack’s eyes. Aku revels in it, grinning wickedly._

_Kuni screams, closer now, and Aku can pick out multiple footsteps running from that direction. For a long moment, he is caught between the two decisions, and hangs there motionless._

_Jack, unfortunately, does not have such reservations. He swings his open palm up, slamming it with a blast of magic straight into Aku’s chest, and Aku screams as it electrifies him, bringing him to his back on the ground._

_Aku pushes himself up to his elbows earlier than he would have liked, mind panicking and raging all in one: what had happened to Kuni, and what had caused the samurai to break his word on the no-magic rule? Had Aku underestimated how greedy the man was to have Aku defeated?_

_Kuni comes around the corner, but skids to a halt when she sees the both of them. Her eyes shift fearfully between them, evidently trying to process what to do._

_Several of the samurai’s guards follow immediately, and even though she scrambles again to run they quickly scoop her up, holding her tight despite her flailing and shrieking._

_“You recruited a **minion** to help you?” Jack turns on Aku, avarice burning in his eyes, “After what we agreed?!” _

_“I said no minions for you!” Aku protests, “Which I can see you have broken! She is just some, some lost girl!”_

_“We saw her meet with the demon Aku earlier,” one of the masked guards says in the monotone voice, “We have reason to suspect they may be working together.”_

_Aku starts to warm up his eyebeams, concentrating on his aim rather than power, but Jack throws down another spell and powerful chains wrap around Aku’s wrists and neck, shocking him again and draining his power already._

_“I should have known you would not bring any honor to this!” Jack steps up and over Aku, his hatred gleaming in his eyes before he narrows them to dark slits, “But that mistake has cost you your freedom, Aku.”_

* * *

 

This time the guards drag him out to the torture room, and when they get there the samurai is waiting for them. Beside him, at his feet, sits a small cage that holds Kuni.

For a split second Aku feels that spark of relief that she’s alive and still real, but in the next instant her condition fully hits him. She’s leaning into the bars, barely breathing, and Aku can tell she’s dangerously weary just from looking at her. She’s cowering in the corner, as far away from Jack as physically possible, and when she turns her eyes to Aku it’s with that same unspoken plea from when he first found her in the ruins of her home.

Had Jack been starving her as well? Perhaps something worse, as his fears had said? Rage begins to boil anew in Aku once more, but he lets it stew, growing under a steady pressure.

“I thought you could use some company today after your misbehavior earlier,” Jack says cooly, “To help remind you of what will happen with continued disobedience.”

He looks down at Kuni, a slight frown on his face, and she pulls further into herself, flinching.

The guards toss Aku to the floor, and the samurai steps forward to cast the spell over Aku. Kuni evidently recognizes that Jack is doing something, but she looks between him and Aku with confusion, fear, and concern in one.

“I thought it might be useful to teach this child what _true_ power looks like.”

Aku braces for it, but he’s never ready for the onslaught of the spell, painfully twisting him around. Even as it settles, the clawing fingers of it are still spreading out over Aku and he has to swallow back the sob that wants desperately to escape his throat. He’s stopped bothering to try and account for his form a while ago, but he can hear Kuni whimper across from him.

“You would not know, child, what this creature is capable of. What kind of demon you think you have allied yourself with. But I have seen him in his glory, and the sheer, unparalleled destruction he _is_.”

The spell hits Aku again, and he can barely croak out his tortured gasps.

“He is no _savior_ to this world, to those he has told you he ‘helps,’ and least of all to you,” Jack sneers at Aku’s pain, though he’s still speaking to Kuni, “I regret that you are a bystander in our little games, but you must understand that he is unreasonable without a little _motivation_.”

He flicks the spell again, and Aku writhes, his changing form and limbs thumping against the floor uselessly as his mouth gapes wide in a noiseless cry.

“And your dear friend, that scotsman, trying to sneak in?” Jack circles Aku, “He will receive an unpleasant surprise tonight, when he tries to use the tunnels one of my spies so graciously gave away to him. He will be nothing but a stain in the scrolls of my empire’s history.”

Jack stops behind him, and he smirks down at Aku. Now, his direction switches to the demon.

“And after I have you within my control, you may look forward to becoming the full force of my hand you were meant to be, aiding in the destruction of all those you have so pitiably tried to help. All those that so foolishly thought they could oppose me and the hand of righteousness.”

He twists his hands again, and Aku’s body erupts in agony, every ounce of his being alight with a million needles jabbing into him.

Aku is aware that he screams as the spell seems to amp up in power, his voice returning only briefly in the sheer level of shock and pain that take him, and in that second he almost lets himself think about the possibility of giving in. There would be no more tortures, Kuni would be set free most likely, and he could give in to the cold apathy of being under the samurai’s control like all the others.

But then he thinks of those he’s met, and their spirits that were relit with his help. He thinks of how they cheered him on, lending him their strength against Jack and his armies and magic, and the stories he’d heard of others being _inspired_ by him.

His body, Jack can bend and break to his will, and Jack may try to crush Aku’s ego, but Aku will keep his spirit alight through everything. His anger helps fuel it, reminding him why he’s fighting, and the memories of all those he’s helped— all his memories of these years spent with Kuni by his side— flood in to turn his rage into a volcano inside him, readying to burst.

Aku hears more than he sees Jack come down to his knees, and when Aku’s vision stops blurring he can make out that Jack is looking at Kuni, coldness still etched into his blank expression.

As Jack strokes a hand up the back of Aku’s head, Aku closes his eyes, reaching for that coiled rage and holding it harder than he’s ever held onto it before.

“So you see, child, your hero is a false one. All beasts can be tamed with just the right—”

Aku flips himself over and punches Jack in the throat, and then one more for good measure. It’s not nearly the amount of force that would crush it, but Jack chokes on his own voice anyway and falls behind Aku.

The guards rush forth, and Aku already feels like every part of him is on fire and needs rest. He ignores it, focusing solely on Kuni, knowing he will never make the same mistakes again. He changes into a ferret, gleeful that his magic is _his own_ once more, darting between their feet and grabbing onto Kuni’s cage before shifting back into his true form, wheezing all the while.

He reaches into himself to pull out a portal—

And promptly collapses on the other side of the entryway to the room.

 _‘No,’_ he thinks, scrambling for the anger to fuel him again, even as it’s slipping through his fingers, _‘No, no!_ ’

The guards are approaching, and his feet paw at the ground, legs shaking, holding Kuni tightly to his chest. He won’t let them take her away, he won’t let either of them get hurt again here.

His toes plant themselves hard into the floor, and he launches upwards, bolting out the door and into a hallway outside. Aku has no idea where he’s going other than out of there, and his mind quickly stops thinking as the rest of his energy reserves start to shut down. He cannot hear the alarms that start to blare overhead, or Kuni pounding on his chest while begging him to listen to her.

A few minutes and many turns and leaps later his body involuntarily starts to slow, the last and final sputters of his energy giving out. Aku leans into the nearest wall, panting heavily, and starts to slip down when his feet give out from under him and he and Kuni fall down the stairs Aku didn’t see under him. Kuni’s cage slips out of his hands, crashing down, and all of Aku’s senses snap back into place when her cry reaches him. Unfortunately, he can do nothing but watch as he slides to a stop at the bottom of the stairs, and he can’t feel any connection with his body anymore. He has no magic, and thus no control, and he is helpless to only watch as Kuni’s cage rolls to a stop a few feet away. One of the doors flies open, throwing her out, and she hits the ground on her own with a soft “oof” before lying still, her eyes closed but, as Aku squints hard, chest still moving.

Aku chokes on his next few breaths, frustration welling to a boiling point inside him because he has never felt so goddamned _useless_. His escape attempt had done nothing but bring both of them into further danger, and the samurai would have no semblance of mercy anymore.

The sound that he makes is truly pathetic, as his claws scratch weakly at the dirt under them, trying in vain to pull himself towards her. Kuni groans, slowly sitting up and clutching her head, and she rolls on her side before opening her eyes to blink several times at Aku. She gasps, and clambers to him, placing her hands on his chest and jostling him gently.

“Aku, you need to get up, we have to go,” she pleads, glancing around hurriedly before snapping her attention back to him, “I know you’re hurt but he’s gunna hurt you worse if you stay!”

There’s a sound of crackling electricity, and across the hallway the samurai teleports in, flanked by a handful of guards. Kuni shouts, and then hops over Aku, tugging at his arm in an attempt to pull him up the stairs and back out of there. They both know she’s not strong enough, but Aku also knows she would try anything.

“Stop, child, do not exert yourself for him,” Jack raises a hand and the guards brandish their weapons, taking a step forward as one unit, “I will not blame you for his shortcomings.”

Kuni pauses, and Aku feels her looking at him so he turns his gaze to see it’s true. She might be able to make it on her own if she runs, he realizes. She’s silently asking him for an answer he cannot give, but must do so anyway.

He stares for a long, still moment at her, taking in how much she’s grown since he first encountered her. A notion akin to pride rises in his chest.

Just then, the wall bursts open, shooting pieces of concrete all over the floor and sending a few large chunks to separate the samurai and the demon. The Scotsman flies in on a mobile scooter, coming in close to Aku and Kuni.

“Hop on, ya tatties!” he bellows.

He extends a hand, and Kuni grabs Aku’s while latching onto the Scotsmans, and the burly man pulls her up, half-tugging Aku’s limp body on in the process.

“I heard the alarms and I dinnea think to wait— What’s with ya, ya sook?” Aku feels a large, calloused hand wrap around the scruff of his neck, and haul him over the back of the vehicle.

“Just go!” Kuni tells him.

Aku can see nothing but rubble as the start off, but his view abruptly shifts as a hand wraps around his ankle just as they’re passing through the hole. He doesn’t completely slip off when his claws dig into the leather seat of the scooter, clinging with only enough to hold for a moment before they also give way.

Kuni yells, and the Scotsman cries out, “Oh no ya don’t!” and seizes Aku’s right arm right as he starts to fall. The odd angle and change in position cause him to turn over in mid-air, and he hisses at the strain of being caught between two opposing tugs.

He looks down to see Jack glaring up at him, his white magic glowing in his hand, helping him hold Aku and charging an attack to dislodge him from the Scotsman’s grip. The moment freezes as Jack and Aku catch each other’s eyes, and Aku feels his go wide as the suddenly very real possibility of being dragged back in yawns before him.

Escape is so close, but Jack is about to take all that away again. And Aku knows he will not get away a second time.

Something changes in Jack’s eyes, and very slowly that true smile slithers to his face. He rubs his thumb in a single circle around Aku’s ankle, and then lets Aku go.

The scooter takes off, and Aku is thrown back onto the end where the Scotsman’s large hand, accompanied by Kuni’s smaller ones, rests on his back and hold him there.

It hits him, then, that he is out, and all at once his body starts to succumb to the rest he so craves.

“Aku!” Kuni cries, and vaguely he can feel her small hands grasping at him, “Aku please don’t go! Please, please…”

He grumbles quietly, voice barely there, “Not going anywhere,” under her pleading and the rush of wind, but then he falls into an unwilling sleep.

When he wakes, it’s to an unfamiliar room and the stench of scottish cooking, making him gag as his senses come back to him. At least he can come into consciousness knowing it all hadn’t been some desperate fever dream. He turns his head, and sees the Scotsman snoring in a chair across from him.

How long has he been out?

Something warm snuggles into his shoulder, and he thankfully doesn’t have enough energy to leap because he recognizes Kuni sleeping against him in the next moment. He relaxes a fraction, watching her for a minute to fully absorb all that had happened. Aku shudders as he inhales and exhales deeply, and the ghostly aches start to settle in, even in the pain itself is no longer real.

He reaches up to scratch at his neck, and only recalls just then that he had never retrieved his cape from the samurai. Something akin to disappointment starts in him, but then he looks down at Kuni again and it vanishes.

Aku sighs, and he drifts back into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

 

The samurai stands on his balcony, one hand clenching into the tattered red cape that flutters with the wind.

He has calmed his emotions from earlier, and recognized his mistakes upon mindful reflection. There is a frustration, still lingering, that such a gratuitous misstep still happened, but he is ever patient.

And, there is something to be gained from this experience: the knowledge that the spells for forceful shapeshifting could indeed be broken through, and Aku now has a mortal weakness. The demon, ever arrogant, will think he can keep the girl with him and free from the samurai’s exploitation. But that is not true.

As for why he had let Aku go? Well.

Aku had given him a gift he’d never borne witness to before: a flash of true fear in those eyes.

Oddly, the man finds himself smiling. It’s been so rare in previous years, but even the small victories over the demon pest give him what could resemble joy.

And besides, he and Aku will always have an _eternity_ to know each other.


End file.
